Healing Love at Christmas by Sam Crescent Page A

bottom dropped out of their safe, complacent world when Natasha discovered Jake was having an affair.
    Natasha had never felt this deep sense of hopelessness before but ever since she found out about the other woman, she didn’t know what to do. It was like the past four years had been nothing but a lie.
    Moving away from the dreaded scenery and putting the kettle on, Natasha pulled two large cups down and filled them with coffee and sugar. He liked two teaspoons of sugar, a heaped spoonful of instant coffee and full-fat milk. She stirred the liquid, watching it swirl inside the black cup. This was supposed to be their chance to reconcile, a chance to put the mistakes of the past behind them.
    Instead they were like complete strangers. She didn’t share his bed anymore. They didn’t laugh and they most definitely didn’t talk anymore. It was strange that the man she loved had become a complete blank to her. Natasha knew all the little details about him, like how he liked his coffee. And that he preferred going commando rather than wearing any form of underwear. He liked his cereal with skim milk, his steak rare and loved a pair of fresh, clean socks. He could make love at all times of the day. He preferred her cutting his hair instead of going to the barber shop. She liked waiting for days to cut his hair, watching his ruggedly handsome face become surrounded by his silky locks. She used to run her fingers through it for hours because both Natasha and Jake, for different reasons, found the act extremely soothing.
    He didn’t like football but loved watching movies. He wanted a big family. The one holiday, the season that brought Jake great joy and comfort, was Christmas. Christmas was special to him. For years, he'd fantasized about spending Christmas with Natasha and their future children (two boys and two girls), in their cozy, country home, oblivious to the world outside.
    This was their fifth Christmas together and with the way things were going, Natasha believed it was going to be their last.
    How could a couple stay together after one partner breaks the most important vow? She watched him gather logs and realized she didn’t have a clue.
    ****
    Jake could feel her eyes on him. His body was on fire with the need to have her consume him. For six months she'd denied him her body. This came after five years of passionate, uninhibited love making four or five times a week. Some years it was daily. He gathered logs trying to figure out what the hell to do.
    Adultery. Affair. Cheating . He detested these words. His marriage meant a lot to him. Jake tried to think back to six months ago when Natasha accused him of cheating on her.
    He couldn’t for the life of him think why? He'd never cheat on his wife. And yet she said she saw him.
    Since then, Jake had been living in a nightmare which was getting worse by the day. The woman he loved was broken inside. He could see it and feel it and no matter what he did, he couldn’t think of any way to change it.
    Who was the mystery woman he was supposed to be having the affair with?
    The worst part were the demands for a divorce. He cringed just thinking about the word. Six months ago he supposedly cheated. Four months ago he came home from work and Natasha demanded a divorce and told him to get the hell out of their home. The words still stung and left a familiar ache in the pit of Jake’s stomach. And here they were now.
    Up to that point in his life, Jake believed the words ‘broken heart’ were overused and cliché. But that day he did indeed feel his heart break.
    He picked up a couple more logs and made his way back to their cabin where his eyes were drawn to her presence. She sat with her feet under her on a weathered, wooden kitchen chair. She was looking everywhere else around the room but at him.
    There was a time she would've thrown herself at him, kissing him hard, running her hands through his hair while he picked her up, pressed her against the wall and impressed